How to Prepare for a Winter Snowstorm

I’ve spent most of my life living in almost all of the corners of Ohio which means I’ve experienced more than my fair share of blizzards, snow storms, and blackouts.

Fun fact: The first Christmas we spent in our new Condo, a freak ice storm knocked out our power for almost a week. Good times!

After that experience and especially after our multiday summer blackout Husband and I figured we should probably keep a few things on hand and ideas in mind in case we have a weather emergency in the future.

Now, I don’t want to insult anyone reading this post but Husband and I are not Doomsday Preppers. We’re not into learning how to wrestle a bear or hoarding our collective weight in beef jerky when we see a snowflake outside of the windows.

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We’re interested in what to do if the electricity or heat goes out during a snowstorm. How to stay warm and what items we should have on hand to make waiting out the storm more comfortable when everyone else is experiencing Winter Weather Amnesia like this funny tweet:

National Weather Service is calling for 6" to 10". @weatherchannel is calling for panic, cannibalism; collapse of society. #blizzard2016

— Mike Revenaugh (@MikeRevenaugh) January 22, 2016

I will never understand why everyone loses their collective minds when it snows. Folks, we did this last year, the year before that, and the year before that, remember?

How to Prep Your Car for Winter Snowstorms

Keep at least a half a tank of gas in your car to keep it from freezing and make sure you have the following items in your car:

4 Basic Things to Have in Your Car in Winter Part 1
 
13 Things to Have in Your Car for Winter Snow and Ice Emergencies Part 2

 

 

What to Do When the Electricity Goes Out

If a snow or ice storm knocks out your electricity check out these tips:

Frozen Food Safety During a Power Outage  - We were able to keep some of the food in our refrigerator and freezer from spoiling by putting it into a cooler in the garage during our multi day winter blackout. This post will help you know what you might be able to safely keep and what you should toss.

Emergency Cooking - 10 Ways to Have a Hot Meal When the Power Goes Out
 
How to Plan For/Survive an Extended Electrical Blackout
 
And finally, if you lose heat and power during a snowstorm or any emergency, really, use this Evacuation Preparedness post as a realistic guide for what you need to take with you to an emergency shelter. It is written by someone is a  volunteer who helps run emergency shelters for flood, tornado, and hurricane victims.  Like she says:

“Talking about the zombie apocalypse or bugging out when the New World Order starts opening up concentration camps is fun, but you're more likely to wind up sleeping on a high school gymnasium floor when your neighborhood floods. “

 

How to Shelter in Place During a Blizzard

What do you do when you are stuck at home during a snow emergency? How do you keep warm? How do you deal with digging yourself out from the snow? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

 7 Tips for  Safely Shoveling Snow
 
Warm a Winter Room with Free Heat!
 
9 New Habits to Keep You Warm During Winter
 
How to Keep Ice from Forming Inside House Windows
 
Make a No Slip Stay Put Door Draft Dodger – Putting draft blockers on our closet doors made a world of difference! Who knew?

I’ll tell you knew about draft coming out from under the closet doors on outside walls of our house – me! Renters as well as homeowners can use the tips in my post Save Money! Find and Fix Air Leaks and Drafts.

Dress in layers and pay extra attention to covering your extremities when you are outside in the snow. These cold weather gear tutorials should help:

Make Microwave Hand Warming Gloves – toasty!

20 Warm Winter DIY Clothes We Love 

 

Don’t forget your pets! They can get frostbite too. We use Musher’s Secret Paw Wax (affiliate link) to protect Lacey’s paws from ice and cold because she hates wearing dog boots (to put it mildly.) Check out my Condo Blues Dog Coats and Boots for Dogs Who Hate Wearing Clothes to Buy or DIY! to check out the types of cold weather gear Lacey will tolerate wearing when the temperature drops.

I can deal with Lisa’s DIY dog coat. The boots she made from  her How to Make Dog Boots tutorial? Yeah, I ate them two days after she made me wear them. Heh.

And finally, if you find yourself surrounded by snow and there aren’t any sleds to be found check out my roundup 5 DIY Sleds!  Because playing in the snow is fun no matter how old you are!

For more snow storm preparedness supplies check out the options - and more! - below! 

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